Pittsburgh Steelers

This defeat marked the fourth time in ten years that the Steelers have lost the conference title game at home under Bill Cowher. See also AZON. The Steelers defeated the New York Jets in the Divisional Round yet lost to the New England Patriots, 41-27, in the AFC Championship. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. As a result of this dominant season, the Steelers received home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. At about the same time a new release of the film finally gave them proper screen credit. Only three previous teams have 15 wins, with the Steelers being the first AFC team to accomplish this feat. Only in 1984 did the Academy rectify the situation by awarding the Oscar to Foreman and Wilson retrospectively (and posthumously in both cases, although Foreman did live long enough to know that it was going to happen).

The Steelers completed the 2004 regular season with the best record in the NFL at 15-1. Pierre Boulle, who did not speak English, was given screen credit for adapting his own novel, and the Oscar was awarded to him. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row -- they have never lost 10 or more in consecutive years since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.
The screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, were on the Hollywood blacklist and could only work secretly. Cowher led the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as coach, a feat that had only previously been accomplished by fabled coach Paul Brown of the Browns.
Award nominations:. He was replaced by Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton, PA.
Award wins:.

In 1991, legendary coach Chuck Noll, who led the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories, retired. One memorable feature of the movie is the tune that is whistled by the POW's—the "Colonel Bogey March"—and is now widely associated with the movie, and even sometimes referred to as the "River Kwai March." Besides serving as an example of British fortitude and dignity in the face of privation, it suggested (whether or not intended by the screenwriters) a specific symbol of defiance to many movie-goers of the period: WW II veterans (and many of their baby-boom sons) thought of the tune as that of a mockery of Japan's principal ally. During the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles and were known as the "Steagles". (Buster Keaton's The General includes an almost identical scene.). In 1942 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were know as "Card-Pitt" and informally known as the "Car-Pitts" or "Carpets" (due to their ineptitude; they won no games). The destruction of the bridge in the film was accomplished by blowing up a full-sized bridge as a real train drove over it. This may have been the first time such a scene had been attempted without model shots since the silent film era. They twice merged with other NFL franchises in order to field a team. The steel bridge has been repaired and is still in use.

During World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. In reality, a parallel steel bridge was added a few months after the wooden bridge was completed, and both were destroyed by Allied aerial bombing, the steel bridge first. The Immaculate Reception game happened in this postseason.
The plot of the film is built around a fictional destruction of the wooden bridge by prisoner sabotage. In fact, they had only eight winning seasons prior to that season, despite being one of the oldest teams in the league.
. The Steelers had a long history of futility before 1972, their first postseason appearance. About a hundred thousand conscripted Asian labourers and 16,000 prisoners of war died on the whole project, which was nicknamed the Death Railway.

Longtime sportscaster Myron Cope is well known in Pittsburgh for his distinctive voice and commentary. This was part of a project to link existing Thai and Burmese railway lines to create a route from Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) to support the Japanese occupation of Burma. Their coach was Chuck Noll. The story is based on a real event, the building in 1942 of a railway bridge over the Mae Klong (not the Kwai) in the Thai town of Kanchanaburi. The team had a dominant defense known as The Steel Curtain and an offense led by Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. It was filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and England. The team appeared in five Super Bowls, winning four and is regarded as The Team of The Seventies. An Anglo-American film in English based on the book appeared in 1957 and the name was changed slightly, to The Bridge on the River Kwai. The film portrays a group of British captives in a Japanese POW camp forced to build a railway bridge spanning the River Kwai in Thailand.

The team was so named because of the abundant steel industry in the city.
Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai (The Bridge over the River Kwai) is a novel by Pierre Boulle, published in 1954, that won France's "Prix Ste Beuve." It dramatizes the plight of Allied prisoners of war during World War II forced to build the 258-mile Death Railway by Japanese forces. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a National Football League team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast (Malcolm Arnold). Bill Cowher, 1992-present (9 Playoff appearances, 1 Super Bowl appearance). Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Sessue Hayakawa). 15. Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Sessue Hayakawa).

Chuck Noll, 1969-1991 (12 Playoff appearances, 4 Super Bowl victories). Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay - Pierre Boulle - Carl Foreman - Michael Wilson. 14. Academy Award for Original Music Score - Malcolm Arnold. Bill Austin, 1966-1968. Academy Award for Film Editing - Peter Taylor. 13. Academy Award for Best Cinematography - Jack Hildyard.

Mike Nixon, 1965. New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor (Alec Guinness). 12. Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (Alec Guinness). Buddy Parker, 1957-1964 (1 Playoff appearance). Academy Award for Best Actor (Alec Guinness). 11. New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Director (David Lean).

Walt Kiesling, 1953-1956. Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture (David Lean). 10. Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (David Lean, Assistants: Gus Agosti & Ted Sturgis). Joe Bach, 1952-1953. Academy Award for Directing (David Lean). 9. New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Film.

John Michelosen, 1948-1951. Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama. 8. BAFTA Award for Best Picture. Jock Sutherland, 1946-1947 (1 Playoff appearance). Academy Award for Best Picture. 7. M.R.B. Chakrabandhu  : Yai.

Jim Leonard, 1945. Miura. 6. Keiichiro Katsumoto  : Lt. Walt Kiesling, 1940-1944. Kanematsu. 5. Heihachiro Okawa  : Capt.

John Blood, 1937-1939. Ann Sears  : Nurse at Ceylon hospital. 4. Baker. Joe Bach, 1935-1936. Harold Goodwin  : Pvt. 3. Percy Herbert  : Pvt. Grogan.

Luby DiMelio, 1934. John Boxer  : Maj. Hughes. 2. Green. Jap Douds, 1933. André Morell  : Col. 1. Reeves.

70 (Stautner). Peter Williams  : Capt. 59 (Ham). Geoffrey Horne  : Lt. Joyce. 58 (Lambert). Clipton. 32 (Harris). James Donald  : Maj.

12 (Bradshaw). Warden. The Steelers are one of the few teams in the NFL that don't officially retire players' numbers, though several numbers have not been worn since the players that wore them retired, including:. Jack Hawkins  : Maj. Amos Zereoue. William Holden  : Shears. Rod Woodson. Saito.

Dwayne Woodruff. Sessue Hayakawa  : Col. Dwight White. Alec Guinness  : Colonel Nicholson. Supreme Court Justice). Byron White (U.S.

Mike Wagner. Yancey Thigpen. Kordell Stewart. Donnie Shell.

Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer spent the 1971 training camp with the Steelers, but was traded to the Colts before the start of the season. Andy Russell. Frank Pollard. Actor Ed O'Neill was drafted by the Steelers in 1969, but was cut in training camp.

Neil O'Donnell. Gerry Mullins. Bam Morris. Ray Mansfield.

Greg Lloyd. Louis Lipps. Carnell Lake. Jon Kolb.

Levon Kirkland. Ernie Holmes. Merril Hoge. Greenwood.

L.C. Kevin Greene. Eric Green. Joe Gilliam.

Jason Gildon. John Fuqua. Barry Foster. Buddy Dial.

Dermontti Dawson. Bennie Cunningham. Plaxico Burress. Bubby Brister.

Rocky Bleier. Kendrell Bell. Walter Abercrombie. Hines Ward.

Duce Staley. Aaron Smith. Ben Roethlisberger. Antwaan Randle-El.

Joey Porter. Troy Polamalu. Kimo von Oelhoffen. Tommy Maddox.

Casey Hampton. Alan Faneca. Jerome Bettis. Mike Webster.

Lynn Swann. Ernie Stautner. John Stallworth. Dan Rooney (owner).

Art Rooney (owner). Chuck Noll (coach). Bobby Layne. Jack Lambert.

Walt Kiesling. John Henry Johnson. Franco Harris. Jack Ham.

"Mean" Joe Greene. Bill Dudley. Terry Bradshaw. Mel Blount.

Pass Interceptions: 11 Mel Blount (1975). Quarterback Sacks: 15 Mike Merriweather (1984). Passing Interceptions: 25 Terry Bradshaw (1979). Passing Toucdhowns: 28 Terry Bradshaw (1978).

Passing Yards: 3724 Terry Bradshaw (1979). Passing Completions: 298 Tommy Maddox (2003). Passing Attempts: 519 Tommy Maddox (2003). Receiving Touchdowns: 12 Buddy Dial (1961), Louis Lipps (1985), Hines Ward (2002).

Receiving Yards: 1398 Yancey Thigpen (1997). Receiving Catches: 112 Hines Ward (2002). Rushing Touchdowns: 14 Franco Harris (1976). Rushing Yards: 1690 Barry Foster (1992).

Rushing Attempts: 375 Jerome Bettis (1997).